Volcanoes Once Erupted Zircon Gemstones - Science

The surface of Earth was once covered in diamonds, well a very close imposter anyway. Australian scientists have just found out that a super volcano spewed out zircon crystals all over Australia. It is a gem stone in many more colors than diamond.

Samples from drilling in Western Australia showed particular crystals should have not been there. They were different from naturally occurring ones eroded from rocks. The "strangers" were 2,300km from their volcanic source.

The great distance from erupting volcanoes indicates that the volcanic explosions 106 million years ago were much larger than previously thought. Australia must have been a very violent place in the past. Many animals would have died out because of the eruptions.